When We Met
by BrokePerception
Summary: This is set after the season 1 finale. From Trikru and Skaikru to the end of the world, they meet again. Alicia/Elyza
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Travis' gaze travelled from 'Abigail' to Madison for a moment before he looked back up at the well-dressed man by his side. He didn't know what to say to him exactly; the last that he had expected was for the man to say what he had, to show him a boat in the distance before inviting him and the others to come, to flee to safety.

"There's no obligation for you to come, if you would rather stay put," the man told him when he saw the doubt in Travis' demeanor, "but I am damn sure that we'll have a far better chance not being confronted with this infection or with the infected at sea than on land. You've saved me, and I would like to offer you a chance at survival in return, so that we can be even. You're not safe as long as your feet touch earth, far as I know. If you aren't interested, if you do not take your chance, it will not be my fault."

Travis' dark eyes slid to his blonde lover once again. Madison had taken all of the bigger decisions since they had seen the first person come back to life from the death. Whereas she had always had a bit of a bossy attitude, she had become more so since. With his eyes, he begged her to give her opinion, to tell him what to do, to guide him when he felt so lost. He wanted their safety. He had seen too many people die already from this infection, and he wanted to stop it, and if he couldn't, he at least wanted to be able to stop it from happening to them, to people he loved. He tried to get that across by the look in his eyes. Remarkably, unsurprisingly, he could tell she understood in the look she returned to him.

"I believe we should take the chance to escape whatever this all is. What he says really makes sense, Travis," Maddy spoke in a casual and logical tone. "We should get cleaned up, get all of the blood from those infected people off, and then follow him to the boat. That's the best chance we have. We don't know how fast it has spread so far or how wide it has, but from what I have seen, it doesn't look good for us if we stay."

He agreed with all of two nods: one towards Maddy, one towards Victor. The man simply inclined his neatly-shaven head towards the house, as if to tell him and by extension the rest of the company that they could and should make use of his facilities in order to 'clean up', as Maddy had put it, so that they could be on their way.

Without words, first Madison before everyone else turned and began to walk to the house. In silence they had all somehow learned to accept the blonde's decisions, had learned to rely on her for their own safety. They all knew now what to do. They all knew they had to do it fast but very thoroughly, too. Christopher looked over his shoulder every few steps as he walked up to the house beside Alicia in quiescence. The dark-haired girl knew the reason why he looked back, and she swallowed the lump she felt form in her throat. _My mom is alive._

She hadn't understood the Matt situation back then, hadn't understood why first her parents and then he hadn't wanted them to be too close when they were clearly a couple. Part of her wished she still didn't know, because by the haunted look in Chris' eyes, she knew that the knowledge that someone who had loved you so much had sacrificed their entire life for the sake of others, for you, was a heavy one.

Travis didn't bother to try the bathroom first but let Madison and the children do what they had to do. He would go rinse off and slide into clean clothes later, before they had to go. He had learned to do so after years of having to always wait on Alicia or Nick to be done before school and taking far longer than they had said they would. As everyone drifted off to another corner of the house, Travis was left to himself in Victor's wide clean kitchen.

He sighed, loudly, and leaned both of his hands on the counter by the sink, bowing his head down as he realized he had a pounding headache. He wasn't exactly surprised after their last few days. Last month, he would have called anyone insane the way he had Nick when he told him what precisely he had seen. It was surreal that this was happening. People died and came back to life to turn the un-infected into the same walking dead as themselves, looking to feed and to spread the end of the world as they had experienced.

He briefly considered the idea of a good, effective painkiller, but he knew that he couldn't have the potential side effects of drowsiness or sleepiness. He needed to stay alert at the moment. It would be better after some rest, he sternly told himself. No need for any medicine. He didn't know when that 'good rest' would come, though. He didn't know when he had last had one of those either. He rubbed his hands in his face.

As he brought his head up, eyes opening, Travis' gaze fell upon a person across the road, partially bent, holding onto an unlit street light: from what he could tell, an un-infected as well.

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Author's Note: Please review. I'm on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr as well, by the way ── feel free to hop on and have a look and follow me; I'm BrokePerception on all three!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A low, measured voice then startles him when he least expects it to. He didn't hear anyone enter the room he was in.

"You can't know if she is infected or not for sure. It isn't worth the risk," the black man says in a harsh tone that shows his impatience with Travis' pity for everyone, as well as his need to save everyone.

Travis throws a look over his shoulder at the man whose house they're in, the harsh words ringing in his head, and with a pang, he realizes he has no idea who this man is, who just invited them to come to his yacht, to try to escape the walking dead that have begun to rule the city and slowly the rest of the country as well. All that he can tell is that he's undoubtedly loaded, with a house like that and a big yacht to his name ── if the way he looked wasn't a dead giveaway. Travis briefly lets himself wonder what kind of job he must have, if he is this serious in everyday life. Doctor and lawyer and that kind of career cross his tired mind, but he tries not to focus too much on his lack of that knowledge. After all, it matters little right then. Whether he's a lawyer or doctor or a mass murderer, he's their only ticket away from the continent and by extension from the horrible unknown infection.

"She's definitely not a walking dead," Travis says, and he casts his dark eyes back towards the window, and through it towards the young woman across the abandoned street. Straggly long blonde hair covers most of her face, but the way he sees her shake with each breath, as if she's run for miles and miles, tells him she isn't, that she can't be.

"You can't save everyone, Travis. You've got to accept that this infection is one of the things you can't possibly control," Victor's voice comes. "You're not necessarily a bad person if you prioritize your family in exceptional circumstances like the one we're in. Maybe you should save your wife and children first, before you try to save a stranger."

As he pushes off of the kitchen counter, Travis turns and looks the black man straight in the eye then. Victor's words tickle him a bit. "Only, it doesn't seem like she has any of her own family to prioritize her right now."

Victor's jaw flexes in what he thinks is anger. Travis' desire to see good in everyone and to wish the best for everyone, stranger or not, is both admirable and endearing, as well as incredibly stupid and unnerving. This is no time to play the hero, he thinks. They don't know much about this infection, but they do know that it spreads fast and that it is worse than death. It turns the dead into a walking army of zombies who infect the living with their bites and scratches. He opens his mouth to tell Travis this, when he gets interrupted by Maddy's appearance, her hair wet and clean clothes on her body. She's ready to go.

Travis, too, is a bit surprised by Madison's quick appearance. She usually spends a lot longer in the bathroom. He doesn't know how long he stood there, at the counter, or how long Victor and he have been talking either. He doesn't believe it to have been longer than a few minutes, but then again, he has no sense of time anymore. Maybe it was half an hour ago instead.

"What's going on?" Madison asks, having heard part of the conversation but not enough to draw conclusions. When she walked down the stairs, she could hear that something was the matter, but she doesn't know what exactly. She lets her gaze wander from Travis to Victor and back again as she waits for an answer.

Travis sighs. Instinctively, with the way Madison has acted since they saw the first infected, he's aware that she won't wish to take risks and that she'll be on Victor's side. Still, he feels he owes it to this girl he's never even met to try. He can only try. "There's someone across the street, all alone. She doesn't seem to be infected, on first sight," he starts. "I wanted to see if─"

"You don't know for sure. None of us do," Maddy interrupts. She doesn't even let him finish his sentence.

"That's what I told him as well, but he won't listen."

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Travis feels like he is talking to two rocks. His voice is strong and unwavering when he says his next words. "Enough people are already dead or dying now, without anyone deliberately leaving people who can be saved to die," he says. He then makes to leave the room. He answers the questions before they come. "I'll take the risk on my own. If I'm actually mistaken, you can all leave without me."

With that, Travis' fierceness overrides all of his uncertainties, about all that is happening with the world right now, and he leaves the house the way they entered. The Maori stands before the fence then and watches for a long moment, considering the risks for him, before he decides it is worth it and he leaves the premises.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Travis Manawa walks towards the woman across the abandoned street, keeping his keen eyes trained on her as he puts one foot before the other and takes in the figure's dirty appearance. Her dark jeans are ripped in more than one place, and the boots on her feet seem too large for her. Maybe she's stolen them, Travis thinks. When he nears her, he can tell she is a woman ── not a girl ── by her figure. Her long hair is knotted and tangled and doesn't seem to have been washed in the last week. He still can't see her face, but he's certain now that she is not one of the infected. He doesn't hear the same rattling sounds he associates with them with this person.

When he sets foot on her side of the curb, the blonde's head shoots up, and her hair falls back to reveal bright blue eyes, full of fear as well as a strange determination. She seems ready to flee, it shows in her twisted body.

Travis lifts his hands in the air to show her that he doesn't mean her any harm, and he remains at distance from her when sees her reaction. She's a woman, but her face is still youthful, he notes, and he guesses her to be but a few years older than Alicia is. He recognizes the look very well. She's seen too much. "Don't be afraid," he tells her. "I've only come to help you. I'm not one of the infected, and I've got no intention of hurting you."

He sees the look of indecision in her bright blue eyes, as well as how haunted they are, as his words reach her from ten feet away.

"I'm Travis. What's your name?"

She lets her eyes rove over him for a long moment to determine whether or not this man is to be trusted. Eventually, after several moments, she decides to relax a bit, even if she's still ready to flee if needed.

"Elyza Lex."

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Author's Note: Please review. I'm on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr as well, by the way ── feel free to hop on and have a look and follow me; I'm BrokePerception on all three!


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